Corner protector for furniture and the like



g 15, 1961 E. w. BRIVGHT 2,995,863

CORNER PROTECTOR FOR FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 50, 1959 INVENTOR. E Dwuu 4\/- B2\ & HT

Af TOIZ N EYs United States Patent O 2,995,863 CORNER PROTECTOR FOR FURNITURE AND THE LIKE Edwin W. Bright, Staunton, V'a. Filed Jan. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 790,211 2 Claims. (CI. 45-36) This invention relates generally to protective devices for furniture items and other structures. More particularly, the invention has regard to a device which will be adapted particularly for application to a sharp corner of a piece of furniture, in such a way as to afiord maximum protection for said corner.

It is well known that furniture tends to become damaged at the corners thereof, due to the fact that the corners tend to project, and are particularly exposed so as to he accidentally struck. Obviously, this detracts measurably from the appearance of the furniture, and one important object is to provide a corner protector which wil-l be designed to be applied to a rectangular corner, in a way such as to fully protect the same in situations of the kind described.

It is also known that sharp corners on furniture are hazards to small children, who not infrequently bump against the corners, often with serious or at least painful personal injury. Again, it is proposed to provide a corner protector which will not only protect the article of furniture, but also will provide protection for the small child, by reason of softening the normally harsh, sharp lines of a corner of a piece of furniture.

Another object is to provide a corner protector of the kind stated that will be capable of being manufactured at a minimum cost, from inexpensive, molded plastic or other cheap material.

Another object is to so design the protector as to facilitate its application to the furniture, through the provision of concealed adhesive patches, which will engage all of the angularly related surfaces that the protector overlies.

Another object is to so locate and form the patches as to cause the same to serve as spacers between the walls of the corner protector and the adjacent surfaces of the furniture, not only for the purpose of insuring to the maximum extent against accidental scratching of the furniture, but also, for the purpose of permitting one to insert his fingernail under the corner protector to facilitate removal of the same when desired.

Another object is to design the adhesive patches in such a way as to cause them to be shock-absorbent elements, which will take up the force of any impact exerted against the corner protector, with the patches resiliently compressing slightly to absorb the shock before the protector is in any way forced against or into the furniture corner.

Still another object is to provide, in a corner protector of the kind stated, a construction such that a plurality of the protectors can be nested with one another, so that they can be sold in sets, in compact, small packages.

Still further, when the devices are awaiting sale, the adhesive patches can be covered with small, protective pieces of paper non-sensitive to the adhesive, this being a common expedient, of course, and hence, requiring no special illustration. It is mainly important to note, in this regard, that the adhesive patches are so formed and arranged as not to interfere with the nesting action.

It will be understood that the adhesive will be of such a type as not to mar the surface of the furniture, and it is known that there are various adhesives on the market which fill this requirement.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective View of a piece of furniture showing the corner portion thereof, with a protective device according to the present invention being applied thereto;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2--2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the device, per se, on the same scale as FIGURE 1, showing the inside thereof.

Referring to the drawing in detail, generally designated at 10 is a table top, which is representative of the type of furniture to which the invention is readily applicable. Obviously, the device can be applied to various other articles, it being understood that the protector is applicable to any corner shaped to receive the device.

In any event, in the illustrated example, the table top 10 includes the usual side or edge surfaces 12, 14 meeting at right angles with a fiat, horizontal top surface 15, thus producing a sharp corner on the table top.

The corner protector 16 comprising the present invention is applicable to said corner, and though readily removable, is designed to grip the corner as long as the protector is to be in use thereon. The corner protector can be formed from a single piece of ineXpensiVe material, such as a molded, hard plastic, although it will be understood that the particular materials could be varied without departure from the spirit of the invention. Normally, the protector would be of a coloration, graining, etc., matching or harmonizing with the furniture, so as to represent an inconspicuous attachment thereto.

The corner protector includes three segmentally shaped walls 18, each of which is at right angles to the planes of the other two walls, in the same manner as the plane of each of the surfaces 12, 14, 15 is at right angles to the planes of the remaining two surfaces of the furniture.

The walls 18 are integrally joined along straight lines 20, the several lines 20 converging, with each being at right angles to the other two lines it} and with the several lines extending into convergence at the tip of the corner. As will be noted from FIGURE 1, in a preferred embodi ment, the protector has a rounded corner part 21 where the several lines 20 extend into convergence. Further, along the lines 20 the protector would be gently rounded, so as to eliminate completely sharp edges, thereby providing an attractive feature that will be designed to reduce the possibility of serious injury to small children striking the device.

Each of the walls 18 is identical in size and shape to the other Walls, in the preferred embodiment, and is of quadrantal shape, that is, in the shape of a one-fourth segment of a full circle. Therefore, each wall 18 has two straight edges, these being the edges following the lines .20, which straight edges are at right angles to each other, and intersect at their outer ends with an arcuate outside edge 22 curving through degrees of a circle.

To the inside faces of the several walls 13 there are secured small, circular, adhesively coated patches 24, the edges of which are inset from the several edges of the Walls to which they are applied. By insetting the patches from the edges of their associated walls, there is defined a space 25, when the corner protector is. applied to the furniture, between each wall 18 and the adjacent surface of the furniture. This space 25 permits one to insert his or her fingernail, for the purpose of dislodging the corner protector when it is to be removed, without danger of marring the furniture.

It is also to be noted that the patches, though quite thin, nevertheless have a thickness such as to provide a narrow space between each wall 18 and the adjacent furniture surface, so that none of the walls can actually Patented Aug. 15, 1961 contact the furniture surfaces to an extent sufiicient to possibly scratch or damage the furniture surfaces. Further, air can circulate between the walls 1 8 and the corner portion of the furniture, to the same extent as said air impinges upon fully exposed portions of the furniture, so that there will be no change in the coloration of the furniture where the protector overlies the same.

Still another characteristic maybe noted, in that the patches are of a soft material, as for example a fabric coated with the pressure-sensitive adhesive. Therefore, if the corner protector is struck forcibly, as would usually be the case, the patches provide a shock-absorbent action, said patches compressing slightly for the purpose of absorbing the shock before the walls 18 can be driven into contact with the adjacent surfaces of the furniture.

Another characteristic of importance resides in the fact that the protector is so shaped as to be nestable with other protectors, forming a compact package for a complete set of the protectors. The adhesive patcha would, of course, be covered with protective coverings, not shown, while awaiting use, and said coverings are readily stripped off for the purpose of exposing the adhesive to permit the full use of the device.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to' be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A protector for the corner portion of a piece of furniture, comprising three walls of identical outer configuration each of which is of substantially segmental outline, each wall being fixedly secured to and being disposed wholly in a plane at right angles to, the remaining walls; and a plurality of small adhesively coated patches, one on each wall, offset inwardly from the edges of the walls on which they are provided, said patches being of a thickness efiective to space their associated walls from adjacent, confronting surfaces of the corner portion, the

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patches being of a material having at least a slight compressibility so as to absorb shocks directed against the corner portion at the location where the protector overlies said corner portion.

2. A protector for the corner portion of a piece of furniture, comprising a single piece of a hard material shaped to include three walls each of which is of quadrantal configuration, each wall being wholly flat and being disposed in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the other two walls, whereby to define three straight lines each of which constitutes the line along which adjacent, perpendicularly related walls of the protector are integrally joined, with the several lines converging along paths each of which is at right angles to the paths of the other two lines; and three rounded, fiat patches each of which is of an appreciable thickness, the several patches being secured to the several, respective walls at the inside of the protector, each of said patches being adhesively coated so as to adhere to an adjacent surface of a piece of furniture to which the protector is applied, each patch being centrally disposed on its associated wall at a location equidistant from the lines that extend along the opposite sides of said associated wall, whereby the thickness and the location of the several patches will permit the free circulation of air between each wall and the adjacent surface of the piece of furniture, with the circulating air passing between the patches of adjacent walls over the full areas of the walls that are not covered by the patches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 160,168 Crouch Feb. 23, 1875 480,709 Capitain Aug. 16, 1892 722,588 Kade Mar. 10, 1903 797,495 Clark Aug. 15, 1905 800,346 White Sept. 26, 1905 1,875,766 Schubert Sept. 6, 1932 1,982,728 Ebert et al D 4, 1934 2,324,031 Schilfenhaus July 13, 1943 2,502,771 Weil Apr. 4, 1950 12,633,252 Friedman Mar. 3 1, 1953 2,724,468 Mauntner Nov. 22, 1955 2,787,407 Lang Apr. 2, 1957 

